John
My understanding is while there is some substance in the insurance data, it is not a reliable source of data - people fill in their claims for a variety of reasons and may mistakenly (or otherwise) misrepresent the location, conditions, causes, etc... to ensure their claim is favourably considered. The Police/RTA crash data has a number of checks to maximise reliable (although this is not perfect by any means).
It is a frustration urban council's can face in residential streets where the exposure (traffic levels) is very low and it is difficult to justify treatment for hazards from a social benefit cost ratio. It also means observational surveys are difficult due to the low traffic volumes (conflict studies or behavourial observation).
Also frustrating is the lack of funding from State and Federal levels for remedial actions arising from Road Safety Audits.
Pracitioners understand there is a significant under-reporting of crashes, particularly in the minor dents/lost control where it ends up as a non-injury accident.
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David Niven
Manager Special Projects
Fairfield City Council
FAIRFIELD NSW
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-12-2011 04:41
From: John Gould
Subject: Data Collection
Given the low density of reported accidents in rural areas and the general accident principal that major accidents occur as a low proportion of 'near misses' why are insurance companies not providing road authorities with their data which are principally minor prangs, etc, to provide the data input needed to analyse the safety of a rural road.
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John Gould
HUNTERVIEW NSW
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